The complex was designed by the Corporation's Surveyor, James Bunstone Bunning, and was laid out on a site of 30 acres (0.12 km2) that originally formed the estate of a mansion, Copenhagen House.

The market consisted of the central clock tower, enclosures for animals, slaughterhouses, sales arenas, administrative offices and four public houses, one standing at each corner of the complex.

The final storey has a balustrade giving good views over London,[12] and is topped with a weather vane in the form of a dragon which was re-gilded during the restoration in 2016-2019.

[b][13] Bridget Cherry, in her revised London 4: North edition of the Pevsner Buildings of England, describes the Caledonian Park Clock Tower as "magnificent; Italianate with Baroque buttreses and a more conventional Quattrocento top".

[14][15] Only three of the four public houses which originally stood at each corner of the market site remain, The White Horse,[16] The Lamb,[17] and The Lion, each of which is also listed Grade II.